MHSRV changes

[Ann n Gene]

Ever work on a cab over? Motorhome no tougher than that


2016 Cornerstone 45B on order
Formerly 2011 & 2013 Anthems
2014 Lincoln MKT towed

[Hayman]

I totally understand some repairs in particular work on the engine can be difficult but jobs such as oil, tranny filter/fluid changes with the coach over a pit require no more work then any truck. We get ripped off !
We had a cab over on the farm years ago and it was a nightmare to work on half under the hood and half in the cab. I remember removing the seats sometimes to do a job.

[CampDaven]

SpeedCo.

Originally Posted by Hayman

I totally understand some repairs in particular work on the engine can be difficult but jobs such as oil, tranny filter/fluid changes with the coach over a pit require no more work then any truck. We get ripped off !
We had a cab over on the farm years ago and it was a nightmare to work on half under the hood and half in the cab. I remember removing the seats sometimes to do a job.

[1mainiac]

One big difference is a 95 per hour truck shop will pay certified techs up to 30 per hour plus benefits. A RV dealership charges 120 a hour and most techs struggle to make over 20 per hour with crap benefits now made even worse by Obama Care. 17 years in this business and I have gained 2.50 a hour and my benefit package is much worse than when I started. Now granted I am a bit of a wanderer and this is just a gig til I retire so I have not stayed anywhere very long. I was tired of breaking my back and my bones in heavy truck dealerships and a RV dealer needed a Diesel tech so I traded jobs. Had I stayed in the truck shop I would make a easy 50% more than I do now but I am not gonna go back and start over again. I still carry all my Auto and Truck certifications as well as my Master Motorcycle certification just in case I need to move again LOL.

I told my son if he ever planned on being a mechanic he had better make sure he could kick my butt because I would kick his. The simple fact is no one values us any more we are just dirty parts changers to most and frankly I most days could care less. I could sell 100k in tools and get a job as a manager at McDonald's and make more money with better hours and benefits. Our schools no longer teach kids how to earn a living or provide them with any useful skill they baby sit them and give them a nearly useless piece of paper for not ending up in jail. At best they train them to be ready to go to College and earn a degree in basket weaving. And when it is all done they end up as a manager at McDonald's with lots of degree's.

[Gasman 2]

Originally Posted by 1mainiac

One big difference is a 95 per hour truck shop will pay certified techs up to 30 per hour plus benefits. A RV dealership charges 120 a hour and most techs struggle to make over 20 per hour with crap benefits now made even worse by Obama Care. 17 years in this business and I have gained 2.50 a hour and my benefit package is much worse than when I started. Now granted I am a bit of a wanderer and this is just a gig til I retire so I have not stayed anywhere very long. I was tired of breaking my back and my bones in heavy truck dealerships and a RV dealer needed a Diesel tech so I traded jobs. Had I stayed in the truck shop I would make a easy 50% more than I do now but I am not gonna go back and start over again. I still carry all my Auto and Truck certifications as well as my Master Motorcycle certification just in case I need to move again LOL.

I told my son if he ever planned on being a mechanic he had better make sure he could kick my butt because I would kick his. The simple fact is no one values us any more we are just dirty parts changers to most and frankly I most days could care less. I could sell 100k in tools and get a job as a manager at McDonald's and make more money with better hours and benefits. Our schools no longer teach kids how to earn a living or provide them with any useful skill they baby sit them and give them a nearly useless piece of paper for not ending up in jail. At best they train them to be ready to go to College and earn a degree in basket weaving. And when it is all done they end up as a manager at McDonald's with lots of degree's.

1mainiac,

Appreciate what you are saying. The techs and mechanics are often overlooked, over worked and under paid and only get recognized when something goes wrong. I agree there is a distinct difference between RV and heavy truck techs. The truck techs are better trained and as you said better paid. I had one mechanic tell me the difference between working on a car and a truck was on a car you pinch your finger and on truck you lose your finger.

When we were running trucks I always made an effort to recognized the mechanics that worked on our trucks at Christmas by getting them gift cards and taking them donuts occasionally.

I was in a RV dealership in upstate NY that had just build a new facility and had the opportunity to see their service area and they did not have a lift to lift a motorhome, guess they figured there wasn't any work under there for them.

Gasman 2

[1mainiac]

Well as to the lift issue it is not that there is no work under there it is there is no pay under there. By that I mean that we can't get paid for most of the work under there Cummins won't pay us Alison won't pay us Spartan wants us to send to a Spartan repair center. So how would you suggest we pay for a 30,000 or more lift? Many times we get stuck between multiple manufactures as to who is responsible for the repair. If your refrigerator needs work we have to schedule a service tech thru the manufacture. So you bring it to our shop and if it has power going to it we are stuck calling the manufacture and they schedule a tech that will come out and fix it. This applies to nearly all of the appliances in your coach so all we do is give away our time and service bay for zero pay. There is just too much going on in these coaches for most dealerships to do everything in house.